We sat on them all day waiting for them to come down the ledges to where I'd seen them when I was hunting deer. I had 2 buddies hike in to help. Shortly after they got there the one she wanted to shoot got up and went up and away from us. He gave her a shot but it wasnt what we hoped for. It was a ways out there across the canyon. I was getting 2-5 mph winds where I was and couldn't see leaves moving where he was but I could hear the wind in the canyon. I couldn't get a good read on it. She shot and hit in front of him. It's probably a good thing she missed because he could have made a dive off a giant cliff where he was. I was pretty worried we were going to have a busted up goat.
The good news is she has a lot of time left and there are still a lot of billies out there. I'm trying to figure out a way to get on these goats from another angle to see if we can get a closer shot.
It was a fun day goat hunting that didn't end how we thought it would but that's how hunting sometimes goes.
Thanks for the update. That is definately how goat hunting goes. Just because you can see them doesnt mean there is any way of getting them. Good luck on you up coming hunts.
We went up yesterday to see if we could locate the 3 billies we had found before. I was glassing at daylight and only found 1 of the 3. My parents were on their critters and were headed my way. My mom decided she wanted to see if she could get a shot. We went to the top of the mountain and came down on him. I went down first to see if I could even find him. When I found him he was bedded on the other side of the last rock I had seen him on. I called my parents and told them to work their way down to me. I was 96 yards from him. My mom and dad got down to me and looked at him. She decided she wanted to shoot him. Just as she was getting into position to lean over the rock to shoot the goat bailed off the rocks and headed down the canyon. No shot. I hiked out the South side of the canyon to glass and my parents rode down the North. They found him again but decided to pass as he was in the middle of a big ledge and it was 4:00 in the afternoon. It was a fun day and she was close to filling her tag but the hunt continues.
We are headed to the high country tonight. We are hoping to get one killed this weekend.
She got her goat yesterday around 4:00 in the afternoon. She made a good shot at 510 yards uphill. It took us a couple hours to get to him and another couple more hours to get him out. I'll have her get on here and write more. Here are a couple pictures.
Well, it's been 2 weeks tomorrow since I tagged out on my Once In a Lifetime Goat hunt. What an experience it was! The hunt was one of the most mentally and physically challenging, yet rewarding accomplishments of my life. We have spent a lot of time over the past few months scouting, hiking, and riding the horses/mules in some pretty high rough country. As the hunt progressed, I was beginning to lose confidence in making it successful. But thanks to my AWESOME guides (son Marcus, husband Cal, and grandson Cache), we got it done. After a steep climb down the mountain (with a special thanks to my grandson Cache), we reached a rock where we glassed for a while and found a few goats. As it was getting later, I said we better get headed back up the hill because I knew it was going to test me. Just about that time, Cal spotted a goat. When we decided it was a billy, Marcus got me dialed in and I took the shot. It was so exciting at that moment - finally done! Then after a 2-hour hike back up the mountain we reached the goat. My daughter Shellie & her son Austyn were waiting at the top and thanks to all of them we got the goat out. I couldn't have done it without them. It was a great day and I am forever grateful to my family for all of their support. Marcus and Cal, thanks again for everything you did to make this hunt successful! You are absolutely the best guides, you had me on the goats every time we went out. You even dug me out a level shooting spot on the steep slope. You're the best!